Diet Do-Overs to Help You Lose Weight

Plateaus are common after you've been steadily losing weight for six months, the National Institutes of Health reports. When you're lighter, your body needs fewer calories, so what used to make you shrink is now what you need to maintain your size.

THE FIX Cut about 200 calories more a day, Bowerman says. If you don't start losing again within two weeks or so, your calorie counts or portions may be off. Keep a food diary for a week to catch errors. (Check your numbers at NutritionData.Self.com.) If you're eyeballing portions, measure your food instead (2 tablespoons of peanut butter can easily grow to 3). Finally, switch up your workout: If you do the same one every day, your body won't build as much fat-burning muscle, says Gina Harney, a personal trainer in Tucson, Arizona.